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The Crossblade Crew. The Woodland Wanderers. The Stealthy Sneakers. The Brute Breakers. The Lost Learners. The Arcane Alliance.

These six teams each live in the same large, no, huge land. They all work as a strange, but very sucessful mixture of exploration teams and rescue teams. They still have their own, sometimes strange, litte things. But they all do good things every day. Many Pokemon are grateful for this, though some still don't trust a few teams (Yes, i'm talking about you, Stealthy Sneakers.).

But there is one thing they don't quite know yet. A few of the Legendary Pokemon that watch over the land have chosen to align themselves with a faction. The Crossblade Crew got Lugia, the Woodland Wanderers got Celebi, the Stealthy Sneakers got Darkrai, the Brute Breakers got Heatran, the Lost Learners got Deoxys and the Arcane Alliance got Latias. Everything went well, but at one point, they became angry at each other. This anger caused more bad Pokemon to pop up in the so-called Mystery Dungeons, but that's not the only thing. If they're not stopped, or at least calmed down, the land will be destroyed.

Teams

The Crossblade Crew

These pirates often are found near the shores. Their base is near Atarip Town.

Spoiler:

Leader) Captain Sareli Meliot, Delcatty (Limanya)

Member) Sensei Marek Samson, Throh (Xilfer123)

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The Woodland Wanderers

The Woodland Wanderers live in the Ferrum Woods. They usually use ranged attacks, which they adore. Just like nature. Their base is close to Venator Town.

Spoiler:

Leader) Chief Lynn Hawkeswood, Ampharos (EGkangaroo)

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The Stealthy Sneakers

These thieves are masters of stealth, thievery and trickery. These mysterious Pokemon live in the deepest part of the Ferrum Woods, and their base is close to Saccularius Town.

Spoiler:

Leader) Captain Eclipse Nightmare Artemis, Umbreon (dcjboi)

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The Brute Breakers

These warriors will never hestitate to use brute force and sheer strength to accomplish something. Their base is at the gigantic Securis Volcano, and close to Praelia Town.

Spoiler:

Leader) Commander Brutis O'Neil, Primeape (heretostay123)

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The Lost Learners

This...peculiar group of Pokemon setteled in the Cognosco desert a long time ago, where they study and learn. Their base is close to Scire Town.

Spoiler:

Leader) Principal Fiora Evans, Gardevoir (MancerNecro)

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The Arcane Alliance

The Arcane Alliance is a group of Pokemon that just hate to use physical attacks. They'd rather use elemental things, or anything Psychic-type. Their base is in the plains and close to Medeis Town.

1. No Godmodding.
2. No Bunnying without permission.
3. I have the final word.
4. Don't be rude.
5. Follow the rules. Otherwise i'll give you a warning. Three warnings and you're kicked!
6. Have fun!

Warned and Kicked People

Spoiler:

Towns
There are seven major towns. Each one corresponds to a certain faction, although everyone can visit them. The exception is the largest town, Medius Town. Every town has a few default things, but Medius Town has extra things.:

Spoiler:

Shop
In the shop you can find items that will come in handy during your missions, and great service by the twins that run each shop, Nidorina and Nidorino.Bank
If you have too much items, or a lot of money, the bank will be a useful place. Alakazam will happily protect everything for you. And because of teleporting abilities, you can access your items and money at any bank!Elder's House (Medius Only)
The old and wise Noctowl who lives here will give great advice to everyone. She's a kind old lady who has many experiences and she'll happily share some with you!Blissey's House
Injured? Blissey can help you. She has a lot of experience, and her medicines are wonderful.Primeape's House (Medius Only)
Primeape has a normal house. Well, not really normal. Under the house is a large room where he'll train everyone to be as strong as an angry Machamp.Sigilyph's House (Medius Only)
Here, Sigilyph can open chests for you. After opening a chest, you need to pay him, but you can also allow Sigilyph to keep it.

Sareli woke up. She looked around a bit, taking about half a minute to realize that it's not her room. Damn, she fell asleep. And not even in her bed, but in the middle of Medius Town. Oh well. The Delcatty yawned as she stood up, still a bit shaky. Ugh, shouldn't have gone to Medius Town while tired. Again, oh well. She walked for a bit, then pauses, having forgotten the reason she was here. As she thinks, a familliar voice was heard. "Hey! Sareli! You wanted to know when the new posters would be put up, eh? Well, i can tell you that they were put up while you were being all cute 'n' stuff, y'know, sleeping!" The Smeargle grinned. "How often do i have to tell you? Do not call me cute. I might accept it from others, but this is quite... Annoying, to say the least." is Sareli's reply. The Smeargle looks down. "Aw girl...." he sais. "What part of no is too hard for you to understand?" she screams. "Alright... Anyways, the new posters are already put up. And these have to be put up yet, so feel free to take 'em!" said the Smeargle. Now, that was a thing she was satisfied with. She took the posters and nodded, while she walked back.

As soon as she entered Atarip Town, everything was a lot easier. This was a place she knew completely. She quickly ran to the large, wooden board in the middle of the town and took everything off it in one swipe. The stack of paper was getting quite large already, but then again, it was from two rounds of rescue jobs. She was a bit surprised that none of her team members went to get them, but as leader, she had the responsibility. Thus, she walked towards her base. On the way, however, she stopped at the shop where she made sure to stock up on Oran Berries. With the berries and paper she finally walked to the base of the Crossblade Crew.

As she entered the base, it was surprisingly silent. Normally, it would be full of Pokemon preparing, eating, sleeping, talking and doing all sorts of activities. But it was quite empty. Sareli just shrugged and put the stuff on the table. She took the Oran Berries and brought them to the kitchen. The paper was put on a small wooden board. All jobs were there, be it exploring, rescuing or bounty hunting. Occasionally, one of them would disappear. A Pokemon had then taken the job. Sareli just decided to sit there and study the available missions.

Ah, Atarip town. Without a doubt, this was Sensei Marek Samson's favorite place in the entire country. The sound of the calm, refreshing ocean in the distance soothed his nerves, and made him forget the stresses of everyday life. The people here were not the nicest, but they were peaceful enough. Besides, he had a reputation around here. Even if this town was full of thieves and cut-throats, nobody would dare mess with Sensei if they wanted to stay in the realm of the living. For a moment more, Sensei allowed the calming sound of the waves and the Wingull to wash away his troubles, before returning to business. He was here to see someone.

"Uncle Decker. Good to see you again," said Marek, as he approached the Sawk before him. "What do you want, Marek?" Decker replied, in a rather menacing tone. The Throh stopped walking towards his uncle and stood, a serious expression on his face. "How is my father?" he asked, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Bad. Not that you care," Decker said indignantly. Marek took a step back. "I assure you, uncle, I still hold my father and sensei in the greatest re-" he began, but his uncle cut him off. "Save it! It's because of you that he's sick like this!" Decker shouted. Marek took another step back and looked down at his black gi. Decker cleared his throat and regained his composure. They both knew that one should never let one's emotions take control, but Marek understood that his father meant just as much to Decker as to him. They were brothers, after all. "You may see him. But know this: it is you who has done this to him. Your dishonorable leaving and your joining that silly hero team, or whatever it is called. It made him so sick with sadness that he can no longer bear it," Decker said, his voice quivering with both hatred and sadness.

Marek found his father Throh lying on a bed in a small hut in the middle of Atarip Town. "Father..." he began. The old Throh in the bed grunted in pain, and slowly opened his eyes. "M-Marek..." he stuttered. "Yes," his son replied. "I know..." the older of the two Throh began, but burst into a coughing fit before he could continue. Marek rushed over to help him, and it soon ended. "I know things have not been better between the two of us since...you joined the Crossblade Crew..." he said. Marek wanted to explain that he joined so that he could use his skills to help Pokemon in need, but decided to let his father speak. "...but it is almost my time. I will die soon, and I am happy for it. I just wanted to see you one last time..." he continued. Marek tried to compose himself, but couldn't keep the frown off his face. A single tear slid down his rock-hard cheek, and fell onto the floor. "I know, one way or another, you'll do me proud..." and with that, Marek's father fell into the clutches of sleep once again. Whether he would wake this time, nobody knew, though it was only a matter of time.

It was several hours before Marek was able to get himself together. Taking a deep breath, and exhaling, he walked once again on the streets of Atarip Town. During his crossing, he couldn't help noticing that the board which usually had all sorts of jobs posted upon it was blank. He knew who had done this: his teammate Sareli. At least, she was the most likely suspect. The sneaky Delcatty wouldn't think twice before being greedy. Still, he respected her as his superior.

Marek, deciding that there was nothing better to do, made his way to the Crossblade Crew's base, which wasn't far from Atarip Town itself. On his way, he paid a visit to the shop and bought an Oran Berry to revitalize himself with. Marek finally made it to the base, and saw that it was deserted except for one Pokemon besides himself: Sareli. She sat casually, studying the various job notices which Sensei was now certain she had taken from the bulletin board.

"Very relax today, don't you think?" he said, not sparing a second glance to see if he had startled her. He walked over to his bed and sat upon it, beginning his daily stretching routine. First, he cracked his fists, then began stretching his arms one by one. "Did you find a good job? Personally, I feel like a bounty hunting job."

Brutis arose from his stone bed and stretched greatly, releasing a large yawn. He had this horrible dream last night. Brick had died and the other Breakers elected him the leader. That was absurd, though. Brutis wasn't a leader. He was a follower. A damned good one at that. Calling shots wasn't his forte, anyways. Besides. Brick is a great leader and an even better fighter. It would be almost impossible to kill him. Rhyperiors were amazingly tough. Nothing short of a Gyarados could kill Brick. Nothing.

Bruiser walked out of his small room and loped into the Breaker's common room, to be greeted by an empty stone table. The others must be out on a mission. It had been a lot like the Brute Breakers to leave Bruiser behind as a guard. His back wasn't what it used to be, but his fists could still shatter steel. He went into the kitchen, all stone as well, and reached into the stone refrigerator, powered by an Ice Stone in a strategic location, and grabbed a stone tankard of Oran Berry juice. He lifted the draught to his mouth and downed it in one go. Brutis loved Oran Berry juice, so tangy and sweet. He placed the tankard on the counter for one of the lower members to wash and walked into the commons again to be greeted by a smiling face, a young Medicham. "Good morning, Commander."

What? "I'm sorry Jen, I don't know what you mean." Jennifer was young and ambitious. She would do anything to advance in the Breaker's ranks. Patronizing officers wasn't below her. "Now where's Brick? I expected him to meet me in the kitchen at dawn." Brutis took the seat opposite of her and crossed his arms.

She lowered her head, as if to hide a tear or a sob. "You don't remember, do you? Your mind is growing weak, old one." She stood up, walked behind him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Brick is dead. We were on a mission near the coast and he got trapped in an aquatic cave with a Gyarados." She was wracked with a sob, fake or real he could not tell. "You were powerless to help. We all were." To put even more of a surprise on him she added, "We elected you the new leader. Last we saw of you last night you grabbed some Leppa Berry ale and disappeared into your room."

"Wha-" He couldn't believe it! His dream was real! To make it even worse, he had chosen to drown out all of his worry with ale! "No...I can't be leader...I'm not a good leader..."

"Don't be so modest, old one. You've led us out of dozens of scrapes, each more dangerous than the last." She sat next to him. "Now, what is your first order, Commander?"

If you ever left the Ferrum woods via the northern pale, then the hall would be unmissable. In the middle of a leigh, just by the edge of the forest stood the guild base of the Woodland Wanderers. The ageing timber complex was the pride of the nearby Venator town, whose historic roots were entrenched with those of the Woodland Wanderers. The hall was built more than a century ago, near the Trysting tree where the forefathers of the guild assembled, a large oak in the middle of the clearing. Its foliage, no matter how you looked at it, seemed to always carry the shape of an upside down heart. The lone tree in the middle of the clearing still stood to this day, older than the guild itself. Ancient and bulky, in the middle of the courtyard, a metre or ten from the reinforced double door entrance, which had carvings of Celtic knots in their trims. The gabled rooves of the hall stood at a particularly acute angle, brown ceramic tilings running as far down to the ground that with a casual jump, you could grasp the eaves and pull yourself up onto it. Triangular dormers jutted from the starkly pitched roof, supplying ample amounts of sunlight to the chambers inside. It was like a second home to the Ampharos.

Lynn left her private quarters, located on the first floor of the guild complex, leading her onto the fenced walkway from which one could look down into the two storey high great hall. The timber walkway was supported by two foot thick columns that connected to the beams above that ran perpendicularly across the hall. The stairways gave access from the ground level towards the quarters above, while below, a score of guild members were already chattering, winding down and singing tales. As the Ampharos descended, she could hear the voices more clearly, the clanking of cutlery against the plates and the thumping of their fists against the table provided all the percussion they needed with the crackling of the hearthfire in the centre of the room.

"As we were outnumbered nine to one,
And last of our men concede we're done,
The sparks flying off to break the scrum
Them dogs fleeing back to cry for mum.
You never knew any flukier ewe.
So raise your glass and suspend your belief
to Lynn the lucky greenhorn chief."

Men...silly things.

The Ampharos acted like she didn't hear it. Just grinning to herself at their comical singy-songiness while she paced towards the jobs board by the side of the hall. It was loaded with requests of pokémon for the aid of the Woodland Wanderers. More trouble than ever was engendered in the last few months. The Woodland Wanderers had it busier than ever, the number of bad pokémon in the mystery dungeons burgeoned, there were more members needing time in the sick wards in one week than was normal in a whole month, the entire controlling layer of the guild broke into disarray, and Lynn was left to cope with it. She heaved a sigh. "Oi, chief! Ya comin' to eat or wha?" a gruffy Breloom called. And yet, nothing really changed in her relationship with the guild. Lynn turned and smiled at the group and trotted over to her usual spot at the table.

__________________

RP's I am in:
Pokemon: Journeys Through Novia - Glyn Schaffer

"And they tell me there are people who are normal, but I don't know what they look like because I've never met one. And neither have you, so why not compare yourself to real people instead?"
"Three lives of a gamer: the first'll be your best, because you can always restart if it isn't; the second pales in comparison, and the game will cheat you out; but the third one's going to be better, because it gets do or die from then."

Sareli suddenly turned to Marek. "You know, it's not a good idea to surprise your captain." Sareli turned back to the jobs. "Well, it's a lot to pick from. I'm not that sure on which one to pick, though." The Delcatty stood up and walked to the kitchen. It was a simple room with a few wooden cabinets. Two Pokemon, a Pansear and a Panpour, greeted her. These two were the new cooks. And although they often got in fights with each other, they were quite skilled.
Sareli opened one of the cabinets and took a small, wooden box. It contained ground-up berries and a few gummis. This box was very important to her. She took a big jug and filled it with water, which the Pansear heated for her. Then, she took a bit of the berries and put it into the water. She took two gummis and put them also into the jug. She then put the box back and returned slowly.
"So, Marek... You wanted something with bounty hunting, right? I'm in the mood for treasure, so... Do you think it's possible to loot the dungeon while we're at it? Because then i'm completely for that idea. Hmm... i believe you want us to go together, yes?" The Panpour waved at Sareli from the kitchen entrance. "Excuse me, Marek."

The Delcatty walked to the kitchen and closed the door. Nobody could know the recipe to Brine Brew. It was a tasty drink, well known to pirates. In fact, the secret to making it was only for the cooks and the captains. The taste often varied, since the combinations of berries and gummis... well, let's just say there's a lot of things you can do with them.
She carefully removed the two gummis and gave them to the two young Pokemon. They gleefully ate them while Sareli took two big glasses and carefully poured the Brine Brew in it. She took one for herself, while she carried one to Marek and put it next to him. "Brine Brew. Every pirate has to drink it. It's great. Anyways, where was i? Bounty hunting, yes." She took three pieces of paper from the board. "These are the bounties. The first one is a Venomoth in the Spore Grove, located around the border between the Ferrum Woods and the Deep Ferrum Woods.. The second one is a Weezing at the Sludge Mountain. Y'know, the one near the volcano. And the last one is a Scyther. It's pretty close, in the Seasalt Cave. So, what will it be?"

Sensei sipped his Brine Brew as he listened to his captain's suggestions. Indeed, the brew was the most tasteful thing that Marek had consumed in a while, but he decided not to express that right now. "Well..." he muttered, contemplating the suggestions. Seasalt Cave was close, so that way the two wouldn't have to travel too far, but Marek was up for a challenge on this particular day. "If you want to loot the dungeon while we're there, I'd suggest Sludge Mountain, since nobody really goes there except for other teams, meaning that there will be a lot of untouched treasure," he explained, "However, the toxic fumes that float around the place are the reason that nobody goes there except for Poison-types, so if you don't want to deal with that, I suggest Spore Grove or Seasalt Cave. Your choice." He placed his Brine Brew on the nightstand next to his bed and leaned back onto it. Above him, he could see his rack of belts which he had accumulated during his time at the dojo. The rows were attached to the wall above his bed with hard, steel thorns that he had found during his ventures into Mystery Dungeons. There were five racks in total, and almost all of them had the appropriate belts hanging on them in order of level. Only one of the racks, the one for his Judo belts, was missing its White Belt, which was currently tied firmly around Marek's waist.

After examining each belt, and remembering the hardships he'd gone through to obtain each and every single one, he sat back up and grabbed his cup of Brine Brew, drinking it dry in mere seconds. Realizing that this was a lapse of self-control on his part, he set the cup down, looking somewhat embarrassed despite the fact that only Sareli and the two new cooks had seen him.

"I just want a criminal to beat up," Sensei said. "A criminal to bring to justice." The thought made him remember Sylver and his band of misfits, who had kidnapped his father, and were the main reason for his banishment from the dojo. His inner hatred for them was taken out on every single criminal that the Crossblade Crew apprehended.

Ike hurried down the path to the Lost Learners base. He had spent some time in scire town to visit his father (ie give him some money) earlier that day, and he didn't want to waste time. He had just read about a job, on his way out, to some uncharted area (he loved observing new areas and the Pokemon that reside there). The guild was very quiet when he entered, it was the middle of the day, so most members were busy with their lives.
He hurried to see if the job was still there.... Nope, someone must've taken it while he was gone. Darn, he thought to himself, I knew I should've taken it before I left. Oh well. A little discouraged, he began looking at other jobs he could potentially take. His goal in life was to learn about every Pokemon (and categorize them through taxonomy). So he also enjoyed bounty hunting, because it allows him to learn about different Pokemon.
Seeing no jobs that pertained to his wishes at the time, he sighed and decided to settle on a rescue mission. He hadn't been on many, but it was still a good way to gain knowledge on Pokemon. He didn't tend to take them though. In all honesty he gets scared looking at them. His mother went missing when he was young, and he's worried to one day see a rescue mission for her in the job papers. He shook his head at the thought, I think too much.
There was a lot to chose from, it felt like more and more recently, Pokemon had been getting lost in the desert. Ike had a love/hate relationship with the desert; as an electric type, many of his moves are ineffective to the Pokemon that live there, but as a flying type most of the Pokemon that live there's moves are ineffective to him. He finally ended up choosing a mission to rescue a Gligar last seen near the Desert Oasis. He thought about maybe heading back to town, to get some supplies. He preferred solo missions, because he didn't like talking to people, but since it would be in the desert he thought maybe he should ask someone to help him.

Returning from Praelia Town where he visited his parents' graves, Mike was heading back to base. He made it a habit of visiting them once a month or so to talk to them and update them on what he's doing. He hasn't been with the Breakers for very long and he was a little nervous about actually performing in the field. Looking down to his gloves, the little Tyrogue looked forward and threw a couple of punches in the air, fueling his adrenaline and desire to do his best.

Soon after, he approached the entrance to the base, located at the base of the volcano. He slowly entered the door, only to hear the voice of their new commander, Brutis. "Gather everyone in the practice yard," he overheard Brutis tell another. Not wanting to disappoint his new leader, Michael quickly ran out to the practice yard, telling others that he saw as he went. He stood in the yard, waiting for the commander to talk to them. From what he gathered, their previous commander, Brick, died during a recent mission and they elected Brutis to take his place. Michael made a solemn promise to himself that he wouldn't let anyone else die if he could help it.

It was another, glorious day for the little Riolu as she woke up from her slightly comfortable bed of rock. Ok, maybe she had overslept a teensy little bit, but who cares. She stretched, seeing that most other Breakers are already working and all that, as it was obviously halfway empty. She hopped off and wandered to the kitchen, recalling past events.

Brick died, and Bruiser-- er, Brutis, was the new Commander. Of course, him being the new leader would have been too obvious, she idly thought. From the stories she heard, he's pretty wise. And old. Not that it matters. She chuckled, but quickly paused as a familiar Machop tapped her by her shoulder.

"Still haven't evolved yet, shortie?" She asked, sticking out her tongue in playfulness.

"Look who's talking. You haven't even learned aura sphere yet and look at your level!" He retorted, punching her shoulder in return. "Anyway, I heard from Jen that Brutis wants everyone to gather at the practice yard."

"Uh huh." She said, "And?"

"You're going there now?" The Machop said as he pushed her to the direction of the yard, abit roughly. Not that she minded.

"Yeah yeah~" She said, now walking towards, not bothering to look back if her friend was still there or not. She took a deep breath, and ran towards the place where the other Breakers were headed. This was Bruiser's first order, and she guessed it'd be best to follow around.. for now~ Eventually she skidded to a stop, bumping into a Tyrogue. "Oops, sorry." She said, and brushed dust off her fur, looking around while waiting for something to happen.

Sareli nodded, and proceeded to smile. She drank the last of her Brine Brew, while the two cooks ensured that the jug was safe. "Well, let's see. I want to go to Sludge Mountain because as mentioned by you before, there probably will be a lot of..." Her smile became quite smug as she licked her paw. "...treasure. And as captain of the Crossblade Crew, i would insist on going there, no? But i am not that naive. No, i believe that we should go to the Seasalt Cave. The Spore Grove would work too, but it is far and i do not feel like traveling there now." She paused.

"You might wonder why i am not choosing for the Sludge Mountain. It is because a leader cares about her teammates. You see, i posess a Pecha Scarf. And i don't think you have one. But either way, i'm going to see if we can get you one there so we can go to Sludge Mountain afterwards." Sareli stood up and walked to her bed. Next to it was a wooden cabinet. She opened and took a scarf out. It was quite big, and adorned with a pink Pecha Berry print. The Delcatty sighed, then put it on her head as a bandana. Her ears, however, were sticking out. She walked back slowly.

"I'm going to get this painted purple soon. But yes, this is my Pecha Scarf. Actually, it's so big that i prefer to use it as bandana. However, as soon as i find the hat left for me i will wear that instead. A captain who has not found the hat yet cannot be considered strong or mighty. So..." She sighed again, and unfolded a piece of paper lying under her bed which she took with her. "There's some sort of riddle. It's tradition for a previous leader to write a message to the next one. It's supposed to give a hint to the location of the hat. Here." She put the unfolded paper on the table.

I will give you a great posession of mine.
Never lose it, for you will be the next leader.
The hat is a symbol of might and power.
Hats are there in many kinds, but this one is unique.
Every captain will have to find it to be seen as a true leader.
Gosh, i can't believe it's been so long since i found it!
Rushing across the plains...
Oh, that was a great time.
Those times sadly are not now.
Those times also won't be again, for they already have been.
Old and weak am i, but i trust that you will be able to replace me as leader.
~Captain Olivia 'Golden Wing' Fennlow

"Olivia was a great leader. She was the strongest Swanna i have ever seen. Her wings were extremely sturdy and deadly, earning her the nickname 'Golden Wing'. Either way, i think that this message, although it seems like a normal letter, will give me something to do after visiting the Seasalt Cave and Sludge Mountain. Marek, care to prepare for the mission? We need enough berries for the hopefully short trip."

Brutis stood in front of the gathered Breakers. He saw a young Riolu, Faber, bump into a Tyrogue. That was Abbot's son. Bruiser had known the Hitmonchan. He was a good man. His son would be just as good, if his tales were true. He gave a respectful nod to Jen, who had carried out his order. "Thank you, Jen." He gazed out at the gathered pokemon. Most of them were fighting types, others were rock types. Some of the older members were present. A Hariyama called Tidal Fist, a Hitmonlee named Bruce, and Jen of course. "I believe you know what happened yesterday..." He almost choked up. Brick was a great leader. He was a good friend too. "Brick died. I'm in command somehow..."

There was a shout from Bruce. "You're the best we got! You were the only choice!"

Bruiser smiled solemnly. "Thank you Bruce. Now that I'm in command, I need to choose my second-in-command." He glanced at the older members. Jen was smurking, almost expecting to win. The others were waiting, almost anxiously, to see who would be the Lt.. "I've been thinking for a while. There was one of you who stood out among the rest." Jen smiled yet again, this time even wider. "Dan, come up here." Tidal Fist came onto the stone platform. "You're my official lieutenant." He beamed with pride and bowed. "The rest of you, there are several different jobs we have to choose from. There will be three that we'll take though. Bruce will lead one, Tidal Fist will lead the other, and I will lead the third."

Dan, the Hariyama, stepped down. "My group will be going to Iron Chasm to rescue a Shroomish."

Bruce stood next to him. "My group will be going to the Deep Ferrum Woods. One of our brothers went missing yesterday, and we're going to get him. It was Josham."

Bruce kept standing on the platform. "My mission is the most important, I believe." He sighed and looked down. "My group will be going to Boulder Canyon. Earlier this morning, Hedrick found Brick's body." The Machoke stepped forward, his head hung in mourning. "We're going to take him to the Breaker's burial ground." Bruiser stepped down. "Hedrick, you're coming with me. The rest of you, choose which mission you want to go on. Choose wisely." Hedrick disappeared into the base, but came out with a massive stone coffin that could contain only Brick.

Mike felt someone small bump into him while standing around. Turning to see what was the cause, he saw a small Riolu on the ground. She was able to get up and brush herself off. He smiled at her, "Hi there. If you wanted to meet, you didn't have to run into me." He chuckled, showing that he was just making a joke. "My name is Mike, and...", he started to say before he was interrupted by Brutis' booming voice. He quickly turned to their new commander to listen to his words.

First he chose a new lieutenant by the name of Thunder Fist, a veteran Hariyama. Most of the group agreed that the promotion was well-deserved, and Mike felt the same, though he hoped that he would get promoted one day, when he grew up and evolved into a powerful Hitmonchan. He soon focused back on Brutis, who was announcing their new jobs. A rescue, search, and recovery mission were available. Brutis, though, were letting Dan and Bruce lead the other missions and let the other members choose which mission to take up.

Though he desired to see Brick one last time before he was buried, he realized that he wasn't strong enough yet to lift either the casket or Brick himself. Sad as it was, he had to skip the recovery mission. So he was down to two: searching for a comrade, or rescuing a shroomish from...something. He decided that searching for someone wouldn't be as exciting as fighting other pokemon in order to save another.

He walked up to Thunder Fist and bowed in deep respect, "I am Mike Abbott and I wish to join you on your mission to rescue the Shroomish." He stood silently, waiting to be accepted.

Marek was a bit let down that the two wouldn't be able to make a long trip today. He felt like a good long walk to think things over. Still, Sareli had a point. The toxic fumes could be fatal if inhaled too often. She his superior so he would obey her. Perhaps when he got back he could meditate in order to get himself back together. The sickly sight of his father had crushed most of his spirit, but a little meditation usually did the trick. The dojo had adopted the technique of meditation from the psychic-type Pokemon, and used it to replenish their strength when they needed to do so. The Sensei listened to Sareli as she explained about the hat and the riddle her predecessor had left for her. Marek was good at riddles. He could solve this. He walked up to the table where the young Delcatty had laid out the parchment, and read what was written. The captain then began speaking, telling him about Olivia 'Golden Wing' Fennlow. Based on what Sareli was telling him, Fennlow must have been a Pokemon to be respected. Sareli seemed very fond of the Swanna, and this caused Marek to wonder if perhaps there was a time when they had been friends. He hadn't been around long enough to know.

Marek headed off to prepare the mission, not saying a word. The riddle that Golden Wing had left for Sareli kept repeating itself in his mind. It didn't seem like a riddle at all, just a simple message, but Marek knew there must be some hidden meaning behind the seemingly casual words. He reached for a cabinet and opened it, revealing a stock of berries. There were some Pecha, Oran, and Chesto berries huddled up together in a picnic basket. The Sensei took the berries from their resting place and placed them inside his own pack. There were about ten in total. He proceeded to scrounge for berries all around the room, finding a grand total of twenty more. He walked back over to his captain and handed her the bag. "I found thirty berries overall. Ten are Oran, nine are Chesto, six are Pecha, and five are Leppa," he said. "As for your riddle and your hat, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Strength and might come not from the body, but from the soul and from the heart. You don't need a hat to prove you have these qualities, because if you do, the proof is right in front of you," he explained, hoping to put Sareli's mind at ease. "For example, the fact that you don't want to go to Sludge Mountain simply for my sake is proof of that. Another would have simply left me behind and gone to seek the treasure himself."

The next thing Faber saw was the Tyrogue smiling at her, "Hi there. If you wanted to meet, you didn't have to run into me." Faber slightly blushed, earning a chuckle from the Pokemon. "My name is Mike, and..."

As if by perfect timing, the Primape finally spoke up. The conversation abruptly ended, and Faber turned to listen to the one in front. The first thing he went to do is choose a second-in-command. "Dan, come up here." She smirked, at least Jen didn't get the spot she oh-so-wanted. A Hariyama then stood up and walked towards him, bowing soon after. Faber smiled, agreeing with Brutis' decision. Tidal's certainly deserving enough. Idly she thought about what would happen to her when she grows up, well, she wouldn't know.

She snapped back to reality when Brutis announced the jobs.

One was led by Bruce the Hitmonlee, the other by Tidal, and the most important by Brutis himself. She quickly removed the burial one; even if she help Brick in high respects, she doubted she'd be of use. She was left to the recovery, and the rescue. The recovery sounded boring.. But the Ferrum woods interested her. The Deep Ferrum woods, at that. A scenery different from the Securis Volcano. Faber shrugged; recovery mission it is. And if they manage to find him pretty quickly, better.

She walked up to the Hitmonlee, deciding to bow in respect. "I'm Faber Capella, and I hope I could join your group in the search for Josham." She said, then waited for a hint of agreement.

Brutis watched the members of the Breakers break and scatter to their various positions. Hendrick, a Golem named Boulder, Jerome the Poliwhirl, and Cal the Rhyhorn, Brick's own son, came to him. "Excellent men." He approved of the men. Hendrick would carry the coffin, Jerome and Boulder would hold off the wild pokemon, and Cal would assist Bruiser with the burial rites. "I couldn't have chosen a better team, myself." He looked over the men and turned to Hendrick. "Are you ready?" He earned a nod and swung the coffin onto his back with ease. "Let's go." The troop of five set off up the mountain. It would be a relatively safe trip, but there would be some difficulty.

Tidal was approached by a young Riolu, Faber. She honored him with a bow. "I'm Faber Capella and I hoped I could join your group in the search for Josham."

Bruce lifted his chin to his mouth and stroked his chin for a moment. It wouldn't be an easy mission, but this young one could use the training. "No. Absolutely not." He said in a straight, piercing voice. After a moment of silence, he burst out laughing and shook his head. "Just kidding. Welcome aboard, Faber." Within moments, two more of the Breakers joined them: A Machop, and Jen, who was still sulking about not getting the premotion. "Excellent. Let's go." The troupe began to march south towards the Deep Ferrum Woods.

Tidal Fist was approached by a young Tyrouge, who bowed deeply. "I am Mike Abbot and I wish to join you on your mission to rescue the Shroomish."

He thought for a moment. "You look like a stubborn lad. Can you handle yourself in a fight?" Without a second for an answer, he began to thunder with laughter. "Of course you can! You're Abbot's son!" He slapped the small Tyrouge on the back and looked to the other two gathered around him. It was a Mankey called Scrambler, and a Munchlax named Void. Coincidence? I think not! "Good me- I mean tykes. Now let's go." They began their march to the east.

Mike was thrown on the wall. An Escavalier advanced towards him. "You thought I would not return huh! I have been waiting for this day for over 2 years. Now I shall take revenge for what you did to me." The Escavalier advanced towards Mike and raised his hands aiming for the kill.

"Noooooooooooo" shouted Mike jumping out of his bed. A Houndour appeared at the room and told Mike, "Come on Mike, don't scream like that in the middle of the night, it was only a dream. Sweating Mike lay down to sleep. Ever since Preston had died he had been getting nightmares about the Escavalier he had taken down the night Preston died. Mike told himself, " I hope nothing like that happens again."

Of course with his luck Mike had the same nightmares. Groaning he woke up late and went to the breakfast table grumpily. It was late and so there was nobody there. He had a good breakfast of Oran Berries and he also had some Tamato Berry juice. The spicy flavour of the juice always calmed him down.

After breakfast he walked down to the bulletin board to get some rescue jobs. He then saw his friend Wetson Freeze right next to him. He said, "Hi Weston! Looking for a job eh?"

The table was decorated with copious amounts of bowls with different species of berries inside of them. Pitchers, platters, bottles, plates, glasses, and cutlery, were placed all across the table in a service à la française style and the candles scattered wherever there was room between them, with the little flames wavering along with the motion of the pokémon at the dinner table. The kitchen staff was manned by four of the members of the Woodland Wanderers. In fact, given the membership tally, everyone had their own special roles alongside their foremost roles as explorers.

The gruffy Breloom sat next to Lynn. Ewan was Lynn's second in command. He was there long before Lynn had even entered the guild, already fully evolved even. In fact, most members didn't even remember the day he joined, or even when he evolved from Shroomish, except perhaps for the previous chief, who was at least two decades older than anyone else in the Woodland Wanderers, and Ewan couldn't have been any younger than 35 himself. He was a venerable old salt, knew the guild inside out, was familiar with all of the folklore and the entire in-culture of the Woodland Wanderers. In fact, he was kind of like the type of guy who would be sitting at a corner table in the pub, whom none of the tenants ever saw entering, and none ever saw leave, who's seen the guild grow and change and might even be quietly disgusted by the 'kids these days' in the guild, no doubt Lynn included. Some said he lived, breathed, and talked Woodland Wanderers. There was no doubt he envied Lynn for taking his entitled position as chief of the guild. Yet practically, he was more in charge than she was. He controlled the guild. He did most of the accounting and the regular buying in to fill up the kitchen supplies, and everything. He had the experience necessary to advise Lynn on guild matters when she needed it, educated her regularly on the history of the guild, and most of all, he was respected by the lower ranks, the perfect linking pin between the chief and the folks below.

Lynn did have strategic thinking as her advantage though. She could propose a plan, and he would execute it with surgical precision. In short, they were a dynamic duo. Perhaps better than the Abomasnow Lance, and the Swampert Eleanor, who were first and second in command before they left over whatever it was. Surely the mysterious fall of the upper ranks and the anomalous increase of bad pokémon in the mystery dungeons had to be correlated somehow, and there was a good reason why the Woodland Wanderers had been thrown off the cliff to crash down from their glory days when there were more than 20 pokémon sitting in the great hall at this time of day. But of course, she was too young to have seen that. As Ewan said: "Those were the days." Lynn grumbled and she sipped some from the Grepa wine and ate with the rest of her score of men -- and mostly men -- instead of worrying about the hectics all day.

The pokémon finished eating their meals soon, and the chattering was interrupted by the occasional burp here and there, and clanks when a few volunteered to stack up the dishes and bring them back to the kitchen area, Lynn and Ewan themselves included. The Breloom paced up next to Lynn, holding a stack of 5 plates within his short paws. "Oi, Lynn!" he called out. Lynn slowed her gait for the Breloom to catch up, wondering what news he had to tell her. "Were you planning on going on a mission soon? I saw ya staring at the jobs board for a while." Lynn oh'd. That was what it was about. "I was just looking. That thing has been tacked with more requests than ever," she replied. The Breloom gave a nod when the two entered the kitchen area and placed the dirty dishes in the sink. "That's true," Ewan nodded. "You mean you want to go on a mission, with me?" The ampharos inquired. The tip of her tail lit up in a dim carmine colour. "Well, yeah, no...sure," Ewan retorted. The Kangaroo-like mushroom pokémon felt unsure, but he wouldn't reject the offer. They left through the door. A treecko ran past them, carrying 8 or so glasses, which stuck perfectly onto his little suction cup hands. They walked over to the jobs board.

"There's one that's pretty close to our hall, chief. In the Deep Ferrum woods," Ewan pointed at the mission. Lynn just squinted her eyes at the suggestion. "That's right by the Stealthy Sneakers," she responded, with a slight tone of distrust. She never liked them; pernicious little buggers they were. She couldn't trust them to ever be up to any good. "How about this one? An artifact stolen from an Alakazam and traced to be stashed at the Lorelein Sepulchre. That's just east of Medius."
"Pretty close to the Crossblade crew, ya know."
"Well, I can half tolerate them."
"Plenty of ghost types are gonna be there, but we should be fine, right?"
"Indeed. We should pack and head out there."

The Ampharos trotted off, leaping up the stairs to her private quarters to prepare her personal supplies for the journey.

__________________

RP's I am in:
Pokemon: Journeys Through Novia - Glyn Schaffer

"And they tell me there are people who are normal, but I don't know what they look like because I've never met one. And neither have you, so why not compare yourself to real people instead?"
"Three lives of a gamer: the first'll be your best, because you can always restart if it isn't; the second pales in comparison, and the game will cheat you out; but the third one's going to be better, because it gets do or die from then."

A hearty slap on the back later, Mike was following Tidal Fist and a couple others as they were travelling east towards the Iron Chasm. A pokemon, Shroomish, was reported as being there, but seemed to be in trouble. No telling what kinds of foes they'd encounter. He got more and more excited as they walked, feeling adrenaline flow faster and faster through his body. He kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary as they walked. After a while, his attention wandered to the other teammates that accompanied him.

Scrambler, a somewhat small Mankey, was right behind Tidal. Mike knew about how fierce they were, especially when they evolve into Primeape. He thought back to the night when his dad fought against a very fierce, some said crazy, Primeape called Maniac Matt. Normally, Dad was very methodic in the ring, but it was against this powerful beast that Mike finally saw just how tough and quick-thinking Dad really was. The fight lasted 11 rounds, the longest fight Dad had ever participated in, before Maniac Matt was KOed by a Sky Uppercut. Dad was in really rough shape afterwards, enough to where he had to take a week off to recover. If a Primeape could be that powerful, he could be just as dangerous to friend and foe alike. If Scrambler could grow to be that strong, could he be trusted to be a team-player?

Behind Scrambler, there was a Munchlax called Void. This was a curious turn of events as far as Mike was concerned. Normally, Munchlax were focused mainly on eating and eating, growing larger and larger until they evolved into Snorlax. Of course, a teammate that large could be a veritable asset as a shield due to them sleeping more than usual. When they wake, however, they can be very powerful, indeed. So why would a Munchlax want to focus on fighting rather than eating? Mike decided to pay no heed to it as they continued to walk. In the distance, he saw the familiar formations of the Iron Chasm looming ahead. It won't be long before they arrived at their destination, so he decided to focus more and more on the mission.

"Marek, i don't think you quite understand. The hat is something passed down from captain to captain. It's a very important symbol and a captain who has never found the hat will be forgotten. However, i know you have a reason for not understanding. And i don't really mind! You are a good member and i might promote you to First Mate sometime. Either way, i believe we should go." Sareli took the bag of berries and walked outside. She turned around slowly, looking inside. "Well, Marek? You coming?" she said while chuckling a bit. This was probably going to be fun, since she hadn't been on a mission for a while. She ran until she came through Atarip town, where she slowed down to give Marek a chance of cathing up. Following the shore, she eventually got to the entrance of the Seasalt Cave.

"Alright," she said to herself. "Marek should be here in a moment. Until then, I guess I have some time to kill." So, she slowly entered the large cave. Her footsteps echoed, although the sand did make the sound a bit more faint. She made sure to go not too far, and started waiting. There should be some Pokemon coming, right? After a while, five Nincada were on the ground next to her. She grinned and took their belongings while walking back to the entrance. Still no sign of the Throh. Dang, she probably ran a little bit too fast. Oh well. The Delcatty sat down and leaned against the rock wall. She closed her eyes. The bright sun shone on her indigo fur, and the waves made a relaxing sound. Slowly, she began to fall asleep, but it was only when a Ninjask attacked her that she woke up. Quickly, she defeated the weak Ninjask. However, she was sure that this was only a stray weakling, and that the real strong Pokemon were inside with the Scyther...

“W-what!” Faber said, shocked. Was she not good enough? Was it too hard? Was the Deep Ferrum Woods that scary? A lot of questions formed in her mind, but she couldn’t utter anything. But then she heard laughter.

“You scared the heck outta me!” She pouted, but still grinned soon after.

…

A few moments later, Faber found herself with the Machop, Axel, and the ever-so-sulking Jen, walking South towards the Deep Ferrum woods headed by Bruce. She sighed, feeling a bit bored. She knew the travel was the boring part mostly, but then, the thought of arriving at the Ferrum Woods keeps her excited. The Ferrum Woods! Who knows what they might encounter there! Well of course Josham absolutely but the others! The berries! The Pokemon! Oh yes. She can’t wait until they’re there already. After a few more moments, she idly glanced to her teammates.

Axel, who was walking alongside her, was keeping an eye out for things that would seem out of the ordinary, as well as absent mindedly crushing rocks with his right hand. Faber knew Axel was strong, even as a puny Machop that looks skinny with the thin rib-like stripes. From the training he does every day at the Volcano, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the next thing she knew he evolved. Jen, the one in front, was either whining about not getting the spot or actually using her sixth sense to guard and make getting there easier. Faber knew Jen was really helpful, but boy was she so obvious in hinting she wanted an advance in rank.

“Faber?” She was shook out of her thoughts again by Ken, who made her look at the terrain.

“What?” She said, not seeing anything too different. “Where are we now?”

“Oh Faber,” Jen sighed, “Weren’t you paying attention to your surroundings again? We just passed another team’s base and Medeis town. Ferrum Woods would be in our sights right about… now.”

Faber blinked once; Jennifer was right. “Woah,” She said, looking at the trees that loom over them. A few more strides nearing towards it and she could faintly see a town inside it.

“Like what cha see Faber?” Ken asked, making her nod in reply. “Hah, thought so. Obviously a berry lover like you would get so excited over a buncha trees.”

“Come on, berries are just amazing. What’s not to like?”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Need to keep your guards up though, some Pokemon here aren’t that friendly. Especially sneaks, if you know what I mean.”

“Mhm. I’ll worry about that when I meet one, mm’kay? For now let’s just focus on finding Josham.. for now.” She said, closing the discussion. Won’t be long~

Marek understood perfectly. Sometimes, a Pokemon may feel it necessary to have some physical proof of their skills. After all, what were the belts hanging above his bed for? While the true proof of leadership lay within an individual, there were few who were experienced enough to recognize this. Therefore, physical proof was also needed. Marek respected the tradition of the Crossblade Crew as much as he respected the traditions of his own dojo, so he would not try to deter Sareli Meliot from obtaining the coveted hat. Quite the contrary, he would do his best to help her find it. Still, he said nothing. He took the remark about promoting him to First Mate as a compliment, and couldn't help smiling a bit when he heard it. Despite everything, it was nice to know he was appreciated. "Well, Marek? You coming?" Sareli chuckled, and it snapped the Throh out of his trance. Letting his train of thought go, he began to walk behind the Delcatty at a leisurely pace, even though she herself was running far ahead.

While in Atarip Town, Sensei decided to pay a visit to the bank. He'd collected quite a bit of money during his previous venture, and didn't plan on losing it all to a lowly Scyther in Seasalt Cave, though he doubted he would. Still, he took a stop at the bank just to be safe. He was greeted by a friendly-looking Alakazam with a grin plastered upon his face. "Yes?" he said simply. "I'd like to deposit 1500 Poke, please," Marek requested. The Alakazam then suddenly teleported away, but came back as soon as he left with a big, grey sack. The sack was already filled with Marek's previous deposits: some items and one thousand Poke. "Please make the deposit." Marek reached into his bag and retracted a handful of golden Poke, then put it in the bag. He reached into his own bag again, and shoveled two more handfuls of coins into the bag. "Thank you," said the Alakazam with a smile, and off he went.

By now, Marek guessed he'd have lost track of Sareli, so instead of running after her, he decided to get to Seasalt Cave and see if she had waited for him there. The cave itself wasn't that large after all, so it shouldn't be too hard. However, it was a Mystery Dungeon, and it changed all the time, so the Sensei had to be on his guard. While following the path that the shoreline itself constituted of, he listened to the relaxing sounds of the waves and the Wingull once more. The thought reminded him of something he had heard long ago, when he was but a child.

A Sensei is like the water; he is patient, he is flexible, and in the end, he always triumphs.

It had taken Marek years to come to realize what this really meant. At first, the Throh had thought that 'triumph' meant he would always defeat his foes, but this was not so. It meant that he would always overcome any obstacle life had set before him. The single sentence gave Sensei the will to go on each day, knowing that if he was patient enough, he would eventually overcome the obstacle that was his banishment from the dojo.

Seasalt Cave was within eyesight, and with it, two Pokemon: a Delcatty and a Ninjask. The Ninjask seemed to be attacking Sareli Meliot, but was easily taken out by her. Seeing how quickly the Pokemon was defeated already gave Marek an idea of the difficulty of this task. Though the Scyther would be stronger than the wild Pokemon here and there, he would've only fled to a place where he could fight off the wild Pokemon easily. If he chose this place, that meant that he could barely handle other places, which meant that he, too, must be relatively weak. If he was stronger, he wouldn't have hidden so close to the Crossblade Base. Or perhaps he was simply stupid? Either way, they were about to find out.

"Sareli. Sorry to keep you waiting," Marek said calmly. "Are you ready? Let's go." With that, he was off into the cave, expecting Sareli to stride ahead of him and lead on. The cave was large enough to echo the Throh's footsteps, but it was small compared to, say, the caves found in Sludge Mountain. If one looked to the ceiling, they would find various stalactites hanging, seemingly ready to spear anyone who would dare pass underneath them. From the points of the stalactites fell little droplets of water which fell to the ground with a small 'plop.' The falling of the droplets seemed almost simultaneous, which amplified the sound, and all of it together sounded like a leaky faucet.

"Yo," a voice came from behind Marek. He turned quickly to find a Poliwhirl behind him. The Water-type's eyes shone red with hatred. "Get the hell out of my cave, or else," he threatened. Marek walked closer to the Poliwhirl to examine him. First of all, the Throh really wasn't expecting an evolved Pokemon in the cave, even if it was only in its second form. Thinking back, the Ninjask had been a foreshadow of this also. Pokemon were getting stronger. Secondly, the eyes that glared at him were literally...red, which was hardly the correct eye color for such a Pokemon. Without warning, the Poliwhirl charged at him, readying a Bubblebeam. Marek waited for the Pokemon to get close enough. The Bubblebeam was released, and Marek was able to dodge some of the bubbles, others impacting with his rough skin. Each bubble, upon impact, stung like a needle piercing the skin, but only for a moment. Marek resisted the pain, and then lunged at the Poliwhirl with a simple punch. The Poliwhirl dodged, and, as Marek had expected, slid to the right. Taking his chance, Marek followed with a side kick straight to the Pokemon's rather large, target-like stomach, and sent him flying at the wall of the cave. The poor Pokemon tried to get up, but was unable to, and fainted.

"Did you see his eyes?" Marek asked somewhat bewildered. "Unlike anything I've seen before, especially on a Poliwhirl..."

Brutis was panting by the time they reached the entrance of the canyon. I'm getting to old for all of these adventures. He looked to the rest of his team. They all seemed well, except for Cal. The young Rhyhorn was just as sad as Brutis, perhaps even sadder. He would make sure to take him under his wing. "Alright, men. We're here." Hendrick nodded and moved to the middle of the line. It would be imperative to protect him. Boulder took the rear, Jerome took the front, Cal stood behind Hendrick, and Brutis stood in front of him. "Let's be careful, guys. This may seem like a tedious quest, but we have to be car-" Before he could finish his warning, several Sandslashes popped up on all sides, numbering up to ten. "Arceus Dammit." He swore and the four free pokemon took up defensive stances.
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As they neared the Deep Ferrum Woods, Bruce ordered for a halt. There would be no turning back from here. Fearsome pokemon lived here. "Be careful here, men." Technically he and Axel were the only men, but Jen and Faber were just as tough as any guy. "It'll be uphill from here, and those damned Sneakers are here too." The Stealthy Sneakers were fearsome opponents, if the tales were true, but they used cheap tricks and dirty traps. There would be no telling of what could be in there. Bruce strode into the first twenty feet of the forest to make sure that it was clear. When he was positive it was, he called the rest of the team in. They began to march through the dark forest with the upmost-care. They watched the ground, the trees, and the sky. There would be no sneaking up on them.

Jen called out, "We have opponents coming from all directions. It feels like they're all Beedrills." Beedrills weren't necessarily great warriors, but they were relentless and they came in great numbers. GREAT numbers.
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Tidal Fist and the others were having a grand old time going to Steel Chasm. They were cracking jokes, issuing challenges, and telling stories. Tidal loved traveling with the younger members of the Breakers. He liked to see their faces, lit with the hunger for glory and power. He loved to listen to them tell tales of the olden days. He loved to tell them stories of his own adventures when he was a young Makuhita. They all seemed so interested and awed... It would be a shame that they would evolve, grow up, and realize that everything isn't a game. ", and then the young lass threw herself at my feet." He let out a loud, thunderous guffaw. He was telling the younglings about his adventure with a Woodland Wanderer commander a long time ago. He was almost as old as Bruce.

They neared the chasm and noticed how it dropped so steeply. It would take a while to climb down. "Let's be careful here." They began to scramble down the cliff until they reached the bottom, without a mishap. "Let's be careful here...again. Everything will get harder." They moved forwards until their path was blocked by a huge stone. "Stand back, children. I got this." Tidal Fist moved forwards and lifted the rock....except it moved. An Onix flicked its tail, sending Tidal Fist flying across the chamber. "GET HIM BOYS!"

Sareli looked shocked at the sight of the Poliwhirl suddenly attacking. She readied her claws, but by the time she was ready to strike, the fight was already over. The Throh started to speak. "Did you see his eyes? Unlike anything I've seen before, especially on a Poliwhirl..." he asked. The Delcatty then nodded in response. "Yeah, they're strange... Anyways, Marek. Pay attention. Do you hear the water dripping? The more water you hear, the deeper we are getting. So, you will need to listen and we'll get there so-" Sareli was suddenly interrupted as a Wartortle hit her in the back. She fell to the ground. She could hear the waterdrops hitting the puddle next to her while lying on the cold hard ground. The Wartortle laughed maniacally, while standing on the Delcatty's back. However, Sareli rolled causing the Wartortle to fall down. "Aaaugh! Why'd you do that?" he screamed. Sareli looked angrily at the Pokemon. "Well, why did you do that? You clearly do not understand who this is." She licked her paw, then readied her claws and jumped on him, while using Scratch. The Wartortle used Pound as answer to her attack, but Sareli used Faint Attack followed by Assist. Which got her Double Team. Not what she had hoped for, but it was something. She then tried to get Marek away by walking a little bit further into the cave, and used Sing on the Wartortle. He promptly fell asleep, and Sareli used another Scratch. And another one. And another one. The Wartortle soon fainted, and Sareli took the little Poké she got off him. "Marek, follow me." she said as she walked further into the cave.

Sensei watched as Sareli was attacked by the Wartortle. He prepared himself to go and help, but before he could, the fight had gone further into the cave. Sensing that Sareli wanted to finish the insolent little Pokemon off herself, he crossed his arms and watched. The combination of moves she used were interesting, though he wouldn't have used something as random as Assist. Still, her fighting style was very different from his, and he had to respect that. After the fight was done, Marek walked closer to the fallen Wartortle. "Marek, follow me," Sareli ordered. "Hang on one second," he said, kneeling down to look into the unconscious Pokemon's face. Carefully, he parted the turtle's eyelids with his fingers, and, as expected, another red, hate-filled eye glared at him. Shocked that the Pokemon could have so much anger pent up even while asleep, Marek pulled back and quickly began trailing after the captain.

For a while, there was only the sound of the water droplets impacting with the puddles beneath them. As the two Pokemon advanced, the sound of the droplets became much more frequent and loud, as if the leaky faucet that was this cave could hardly handle the pressure of the water any longer. Sensei took advantage of the quiet, and began to enter a semi-meditative state, in which half of his conscious mind was focusing on following Sareli Meliot, and the other half was swimming in the vast pool of knowledge that was his subconscious.

In his meditative state, Marek reflected on the events that had just come to pass. Red eyes...these were not normal. Perhaps they had something to do with the increased amounts of 'bad' Pokemon roaming Mystery Dungeons of late. The sheer hatred radiating from those eyes was so great that it almost had a physical presence. Almost...was this the work of some otherworldly being? One focused on hate? Marek was only guessing, but just to be sure, he searched through the information in his mind. The species of Gengar was known to cause mischief such as this, but if the red eyes were connected to the amount of bad Pokemon popping up, then it would take an unfathomable number of Gengar to pull it all off. Instead, Marek searched for memories of old legends he'd heard. Giratina, Palkia, Dialga...Arceus...Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf...Manaphy, Phione...all these legends bounced around in his brain as he searched for the most likely one to be causing all this, until his subconscious found the perfect culprit: the Pitch-Black Pokemon Darkrai. Darkrai was said to be a Pokemon that caused endless nightmares, and it used this ability to manipulate Pokemon all over the land. Was it possible that Darkrai was using his powers to put these Pokemon in a nightmare in which the believe that everyone is their enemy? The idea seemed so far-fetched that Marek didn't even want to think about it, so he just set it aside and kept it to himself, for now.

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